A Self-Destructing Doll, Klee's Jumpty Dumpty Edition

If it were merely the guards and nuns in the church who knew that the Electro Cicin Mage had stolen the Lyre of Winds, it would only be considered a squabble between the Knights of Favonius and the Fatui, and the situation would not escalate.

However, if the ordinary people of Mondstadt City were to learn that the Fatui had stolen the Lyre of Winds, then with the moral high ground at play, the Knights of Favonius would inevitably have to engage in a large-scale battle with the Fatui.

While the Fatui's attempt to steal the Gnosis is undeniable, it is not advisable to wage a large-scale war against them in Mondstadt, where most of Fatui forces are on expeditions.

With Mondstadt in his current crippled state, facing the powerful Snezhnaya, Mondstadt's brain would probably be knocked out.

Chen Luo was trying to trick the Fatui, not Mondstadt.

Therefore, it's important to strike the right balance.

"Speaking of which, the Herrscher Authority of Knowledge is indeed a terrifying power. Creating false witnesses and false evidence, causing chaos and even war between countries... tsk tsk. None of these Herrscher Authority are weak, but none of those Herrscher use their brains to do anything worthwhile," Chen Luo remarked with a sigh.

Herrscher who don't know how to do their jobs don't use their brains, like Sirin.

Those who use their brains don't do their jobs properly, like the First Herrscher.

Honkai Consciousness: ***

As the commotion at Mondstadt Cathedral grew, the crowd that had been lingering in the square gradually turned their attention to Mondstadt cathedral, and soon a purple figure burst out of the door.

Following that figure, a number of guards also chased after him.

"Grab him, don't let her get away!" came the clamor of the guards.

After surveying the surroundings, the slender figure in purple chose the relatively high vertical wall next to Mondstadt Cathedral and jumped down. Halfway down, a flash of purple light appeared, and the figure vanished instantly.

Once they reached that location, they were considered to have escaped Mondstadt Cathedral. With Chen Luo's consciousness no longer interfering, the other party naturally used teleportation.

"Sigh, it's time to head to Angel's Share Bar. I wonder if they sell non-alcoholic drinks there." Chen Luo muttered to himself as he left the troublesome place before the guards arrived at the playground.

Just to let you know in advance, each of my chapters is 4000 words, so this time the extra chapters will be added according to the word count to avoid confusion. It's just the beginning of the month, so at the end of the month you can simply check how many words have been updated.

Therefore, one chapter equals 2000 words. For every additional 2000 words added, it counts as one extra chapter.

To avoid seeming silly this time, I'm including monthly votes so it won't seem like I'm adding too few chapters.

However, looking back at what happened last time...

I'm thinking that the extra chapters added by this bounty might not even be as many as the chapters I have saved up.

Sigh, tsk tsk.

So, it can be paid off in one day?

Forget it, I'll pay it back a few more days, split into several installments.

Ahem, after the bounty is paid off in a few days, there will probably be a period of time for a second update (8000 words), because I need to sort out the Honkai 3rd plot and advance the main storyline, since I will be writing about the pre-era later.

My Aili...

This is an unlimited bounty.

100 monthly tickets + 1 chapter

10,000 reward + 1 chapter

100 blades + 1 chapter

Golden Treasure Chest (A Happy Ending) + 20 Chapters

Silver Treasure Chest (A Happy Ending) + 6 Chapters

Forget about referral votes, they really don't generate any revenue.

The bounty period starts from the date this chapter is posted and ends at 24:00 on May 5th, a total of five days.

Since the tips won't be too much, there's no point in keeping it running for a long time. The sooner we settle the accounts, the sooner we can finish and then update a second time to take a break.

Oh, and also, thank you all for your continued support of this book!

Chapter 156 Bouncing Bomb Self-Destruct Doll

Chen Luo didn't know the way to the Angel's Share bar, but fortunately, the Angel's Share bar was quite famous in Mondstadt City. So after reading the consciousness of a lucky audience member, Chen Luo found the Angel's Share.

When Chen Luo actually stepped into Angel's Share Bar, Chen Luo understood why Venti said his bar was somewhat similar to hers—it really was.

If it weren't for the fact that Chen Luo's bar had some modern decorations and a slightly different layout, Chen Luo would have suspected that his bar was a complete plagiarism of the other party's.

Or do all bars look like this?

"Excuse me, uh, Eula, have you been to this bar?" Chen Luo, who didn't see Venti and the others on the first floor, asked the bartender who came in.

Chen Luo wasn't sure Eula and the others had gone to the second floor, so it was best to ask.

The reason I asked about Eula is because Eula is famous.

A bad reputation is still a reputation.

"On the second floor," bartender Charles said, glancing at Chen Luo before pointing to the second floor.

"Thank you. By the way, does the Angel's Share include non-alcoholic beverages?" Chen Luo asked.

"Of course, what would you like to drink?"

"Apple Cider," Chen Luo said.

"Okay," the bartender said, nodding.

Fortunately, Chen Luo ordered a non-alcoholic beverage. If he had ordered an alcoholic beverage, the other party might not have sold it to him, because Chen Luo didn't look like someone who could drink alcohol.

The preparation of Apple Cider is quite simple, so simple that you just pour it out of the barrel.

After waiting for a while, Chen Luo carried the glass of Apple Cider up to the second floor.

I'll pay when I leave.

Perhaps due to the storm caused by the Stormterror, there are very few people coming to the bar. At least, according to Venti and the others, Angel's Share is usually packed with people in the evening or afternoon, but now there is only a handful of people on the first floor.

Here, Chen Luo saw Rosaria drinking, but he didn't see Barbara.

The first floor was already so deserted, the second floor was even more deserted.

On the entire second floor, Chen Luo only saw a few people: Venti, Ying, Paimon, Eula, and Diluc.

Just as Chen Luo was about to go up to the second floor, he saw Rosaria drink her wine in one gulp for some reason, and then hurriedly leave the bar. Judging from this, she must have received some kind of communication message from Mondstadt Cathedral.

Well, that's good. The only person on the first floor of Angel's Share Bar has also left.

This also relieved Chen Luo, after all, with such a person as the second most righteous person in Mondstadt, Chen Luo felt a little guilty discussing things on the second floor.

"Hey, Alo, over here." In a corner on the second floor of Angel's Share, Venti stood up and waved to Chen Luo.

"The place you're in is quite secluded," Chen Luo said as he walked over.

"Of course we need to be discreet when discussing these things, so did you get the item?" Venti asked hurriedly.

"I have two pieces of news here, one bad and one good. Which would you like to hear first?" Chen Luo asked Venti.

"Hmm, I choose the bad news," Venti said after a moment's hesitation.

"The bad news is..."

Before Chen Luo could finish speaking, he heard a series of urgent knocks on the door downstairs.

After the knocking, the person on the other end of the door pushed it open and entered.

"Bartender, have you seen the robber who stole the Lyre of Winds? A strange man dressed entirely in purple..." The voice of a knight from the Knights of Favonius rang out.

"No." The bartender's slightly deep voice came from downstairs.

After the door slammed shut, Chen Luo continued, "The bad news is that the Fatui followed me when I infiltrated Mondstadt Cathedral."

"So, the Lyre of Winds was stolen by the Fatui?" The red-haired youth who had been scrutinizing Chen Luo after Chen Luo entered suddenly changed his tune.

"The Fatui are really a troublesome bunch..."

"This must be Lord Diluc of Mondstadt City, bard. Have you convinced Lord Diluc yet?" Actually, Chen Luo had already roughly figured it out when he saw Diluc sitting with Venti and the others.

"That's all thanks to my convincing singing voice," Venti said proudly.

"Ahem." Eula, who was sitting to the side, coughed twice.

"Oh, and of course Eula credit too."

"While the Knights of Favonius are not trustworthy, the Gale Knight Eula is," Diluc said calmly.

To those Mondstadt" giant babies, "Eula's identity and achievements were nothing to be proud of, and many people even ostracized her because of her status.

However, in the eyes of truly wise and insightful people like Diluc, Jean, and Faruzan, her identity doesn't represent any problem.

"That's why I said bringing Eula in was a great choice. Otherwise, how could you, an unreliable bard, possibly convince Lord Diluc?" Chen Luo gave Venti a disdainful look.

"No, the bard's songs do make up a significant portion of the music, and I feel there's a convincing power in them," Diluc countered Chen Luo.

"Hmm, okay, I have to admit, Venti's songs are really good." Since Diluc has said so, Chen Luo can't deny it anymore.

After all, the first song Venti sang for Chen Luo truly shocked Chen Luo.

"Sigh, it's no use saying anything now. The most important thing is to get the Lyre of Winds back. Alo, I never expected you to fail at such a simple task."

Kid, you've disappointed me.

Although Venti didn't say it that way, the meaning was clear from her words.

"There's more good news. The Fatui did follow me into Mondstadt Cathedral, but the Lyre of Winds is now in my hands." Chen Luo placed the Apple Cider on the table and took the Lyre of Winds out of his backpack.

[Ding! Mission complete]

"Well done, Aro!" Barbatos, the god of Anemo Archon, could tell at a glance whether the harp was genuine or not.

"Then why is it the Fatui?" Diluc couldn't help but wonder, and then looked at Chen Luo.

"Who knows? Maybe I beat them up while they were running away and then took the harp? So, if that happens, will the Knights of Favonius give me the title of Honorary Knight?" Chen Luo asked curiously.

"Honorary Knight... In my opinion, joining the Knights of Favonius is not a good choice." Diluc didn't focus on explaining whether he could become Honorary Knight, but said this instead.

"I'm not planning to Mondstadt the Knights of Favonius, I just heard that Honorary Knight get discounts on purchases."

"..."

"Hey, is there really a discount?" Little Paimon exclaimed in surprise.

"... Although there won't be any discounts on the surface, the people of Mondstadt City have great respect for Honorary Knight, so they'll give you some kind of discount, more or less." Diluc hesitated for a moment before revealing this unspoken rule.

It's not exactly an unspoken rule, but rather like when you buy a pound of beef from an older woman at the market and she gives you a bunch of scallions as a gift.

However, judging from Paimon's thoughtful expression, it was clear that this matter had caused Paimon quite a shock.

"Oh, by the way, Master Diluc, I just saw that the only customer in your tavern left, so how about closing early today? Or how about I have the rest of the time to myself?" Chen Luo said to Diluc after taking back the Apple Cider.

"I don't really care about the revenue in the next few hours. We can close early. Are you really going to insist on booking the whole place?" Diluc asked after a moment of thought.

Since there aren't many people coming to the bar right now because of the typhoon, it's fine to close the shop early or have Chen Luo book the whole place. And to be honest, Diluc doesn't care about the money he can make that night.

"It doesn't matter, just consider it as me having the whole place to myself, otherwise I'd feel really bad," Chen Luo said directly.

As for how to pay for the venue booking, Chen Luo already had a plan.

After hearing Chen Luo's answer, Diluc went down to the second floor and called out to the bartender below.

"So, does that mean I can drink to my heart's content?" Venti asked, raising her hand.

"The important thing now should be the Lyre of Winds, right? Can we use it to Tevyat Lyre of Winds?" Diluc said, returning to the table.

"The flowing rosewood, the cool Stellaron Hunters strings... it's such a nostalgic feeling... Now, I'm using this Lyre of Winds to summon Tevyat... Hmm, although it's a genuine treasure of the Anemo Archon, it's probably not enough right now. As you can see, after thousands of years, the power of the wind has long since dried up. In this state, it's only good for singing for people under the Statue of the Seven..."

"Hey, poet, you asked us to lend out the Lyre of Winds just so you could play it better under the Statue of the Seven Wind God and then use it to earn Mora?" Little Paimon said discontentedly.

"Emmm, hehe?" Venti thought for a moment, then tilted her head.

"What does 'eh hey' mean?"

"Exactly, Venti, you never know how to get down to business, you weirdo." Chen Luo also joined the condemnation.

"Huh? I can accept Paimon saying that about me, but I can't accept you saying that about me. Who's the weirdo between us?" Venti looked at Chen Luo in disbelief.